warriorsfanficfandomcom-20200213-history
Doesn't Add Up
Doesn't ''Ad''d ''U''p Episode Four, Season Five, of Cold. Enjoy <3 Tessa episode! This is dedicated to Brighty <3 and of course to Duskshadow, a special someone she deserves :D This will be in Tessa's POV, but in first person. Doesn't Add Up I sighed miserably. “Tessa, are you sure you want to do this?” I looked up to see Storm. I nodded grimly. “I owe it to you guys.” I mewed, “Plus, you need the time to discuss matters with the leaders and Frosty and Kitkat.” Storm smiled slightly, and purred, “Thanks,” she said softly, “It’s really appreciated.” I nodded swiftly, and gathered myself to go out into the snow to search for the clues that may never be found. Duskshadow said he would come along too, and I was glad for his company. Padding outside, I let my ginger paws sink into the cold, white surface. Duskshadow was waiting for me next to the oak tree, his tail brushing aside the white flecks of snow littered on the ground. “It’s funny how the cold season has been here for so long.” I snorted, “You’d think that we’ve had enough snow here now.” Duskshadow purred. His brown pelt was a lighter shade than Brownhare’s, and his dark blue eyes shone brightly. “Where do you want to start?” He purred, curling his tail around me swiftly before pulling away again. I shrugged, “Probably where Crowheart died, and where he was supposed to be buried. ThunderClan must have answers to this mystery.” Duskshadow nodded. His fluffy dark brown tail amused me, someone as lithe as him shouldn’t have such fluffy haunches or tails. His paws were also a darker brown than the rest of his body, and I used to tease him about it. “I don’t think Bramblestar will have the answers,” Duskshadow mused, “Or else Storm and the others would have known.” I gave him a sharp look through green eyes, “You don’t know that. Perhaps he just didn’t want others to know.” Duskshadow didn’t reply, but I could tell he was troubled. We reached ThunderClan quickly, and I led the way, feeling over confident about my skills of finding the camp. It took us about five minutes to get there because I kept walking right past it, and in the end some ThunderClan warrior found us and asked why we were here. Petalflutter, one of the ThunderClan cats that Storm had met before ushered me and Duskshadow towards Bramblestar’s den. “He’s inside, he may not be expecting you, but that’s alright.” “Bramblestar?” I called out tentatively, “It’s Tessa and Duskshadow.” “Come in.” I stepped inside, Duskshadow following me. I stood awkwardly at the entrance, and Bramblestar sat up instantly, “Is something wrong?” He asked worriedly, “If it’s about the meeting, tell them I’ll get there soon.” I shook my head, “It’s not about the meeting.” Duskshadow took up the story as I paused, “We’re here to ask about Crowheart.” The brown tom mewed swiftly, “We need to know where he died, how he died, and where he was supposed to be buried.” I remembered Storm telling me that Crowheart hadn’t been properly buried, and his buriers were killed. “Well, I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but Crowheart was killed next to the Owl Tree, and he had a deep gasp in his throat. He didn’t stay in the clearing for long, we mourned him for only a bit and he was moved out to be buried.” “Was his body warm?” Duskshadow mewed abruptly. Bramblestar looked surprised, “Not exactly, but the warmth had not completely gone away when they buried him.” “Did the medicine cats deem him dead?” I asked, tipping my head to one side. There were so many flawed parts of this description, and I felt like there were more to this, like a plan. “Jayfeather told me that he hadn’t been breathing.” Then why is Sunny so overworked about Crowheart’s death? It’s obvious that he’s dead, but... why does she care so much? “Show us the spot where you found the buriers.” Duskshadow ordered. I stared at him in surprise, he had never been so crisp before. Bramblestar shrugged and led the way out of camp, stopping briefly to tell his deputy to tell her that he was heading out for a bit. “Alright, the buriers, Dustpelt and Sandstorm, were found around here.” Bramblestar stopped very close to the edge of the territory, “Crowheart was supposed to be buried near the camp.” “So someone, or something, dragged them over here after they were killed.” I deduced, “Or before they were killed and killed them here.” Bramblestar nodded grimly, “It would seem so. Those two were elders, they were cats from the forest, but I don’t understand what killed them.” Duskshadow was snooping around the area, “Tessa, there’s a tuft of black fur here. There’s a very stale scent of someone I don’t know.” I trotted forward and sniffed at it, “I don’t know it either.” The ThunderClan leader took in its scent and sat back, his eyes narrowed, “That’s Crowheart’s scent.” I stiffened, and Duskshadow raise an eyebrow, “How did Crowheart’s fur get here? It wasn’t as if he was killed here.” “Maybe...” the ThunderClan leader sighed, “Perhaps Sandstorm or Dustpelt had a tuft of the young warrior’s fur in their claws, and it was left behind afterwards.” I examined the area closely. Duskshadow had found the fur next to a bramble bush, which meant however the two buriers left it there, they must have got their claws stuff in the bush and only the fur came off. But that made no sense. The brown tom leaned in close to me and whispered, “Something’s not right here.” And I agreed wholly with him. Bramblestar sighed, “I’ll show you where Crowheart was supposed to be buried.” He got up, and led the way back towards the ThunderClan camp. I recognized the trail now, but only slightly. Instead of following the path to the gorse tunnel, Bramblestar led us to the side where ferns were covering the area. “It’s really close to the stone hollow, so be careful where you step or you might fall in.” I gulped, and I felt Duskshadow press against me reassuringly. As the dark brown tabby drew closer to a shaded area, I noticed over little mounds that were there. “This is usually where we bury the cats,” Bramblestar explained, “And I don’t know if Crowheart ended up here or not.” And there’s no way to know. I realized. Duskshadow eyed the mounds carefully, “So we should just dig up everyone and see if Crowheart’s there, right?” He mewed easily. I shot him a disgusted look. “Why would we do that?” He shrugged, and looked away, “Relax, I’m just trying to make a joke, okay?” “You shouldn’t be making jokes at a time like this! This is serious!” I snapped back, flicking my tail. Bramblestar didn’t look amused, and meowed, “I’m not sure how you’ll find out where he is right now, but I wish you luck.” I dipped my head in acknowledgement. The ThunderClan started to move away, “Do you need me for anything else?” I shook my head and thanked him for his assistance. Duskshadow, who had been on the far side examining different plants and scents and called out, “Hey Bramblestar, can I ask you about-” He stopped abruptly, staring around in confusion, “Where did Bramblestar go?” I laughed, “He left, silly, I dismissed him because we didn’t really need his help anymore.” Duskshadow huffed like an angry badger and growled, “You didn’t even ask me for my opinion!” I rolled my eyes. The brown tom was being terribly dramatic, “What did you want to ask him anyways?” “I wanted to know where he buried the two cats who were killed trying to bury Crowheart.” Duskshadow sighed, “Guess I can’t do that now.” “Guess not.” The brown tom’s dark blue eyes darkened even more, and he sighed, “There’s nothing to mark where Crowheart was buried.” “Perhaps Sandstorm and Dustpelt had no time.” “You mean they were killed before they could mark the burial spot?” Duskshadow looked slightly worried. I shrugged, “That’s a possibility.” “There’s no...mounds though,” Duskshadow furrowed his brow, “I mean perhaps they buried it perfectly...” “This happened months ago, Duskshadow!” I exclaimed, “Obviously the snow has covered traces of where the bodies could be buried, and where they’re descriptions or headstones would be.” “Yeah, guess so.” The brown tom frowned, then turned away. “Let’s get back to camp, shall we?” I nodded, “Yeah, it’s too cold to stay out.” ~ Storm and Shade were having a heated conversation about allies and the plans to attack Sunny’s group. “You don’t know that the Vicious won’t retaliate!” Storm snapped, “Sunny is a part of their group, we have to be cautious!” Shade sighed, her blue eyes flashing, “She has a separate group, Storm, they’re like a combination of multiple separate groups.” “So? If they’re ‘one group’, they’ll help each other like we do!” Storm argued. Her older sister looked slightly annoyed now, “They don’t work like us, Storm, we’re not exactly all rogues.” “Some of us are.” Shade huffed angrily, “Okay then, why don’t you rally warriors and march off to the Vicious camp and storm it again? Go ahead!” I coughed nervously, “We’re back.” Both sisters whirled around, and I flinched, crashing into Duskshadow. The light brown tom blinked and mewed, “Are we intruding on something?” “Yes!” Both sisters shouted. “Well sorry, but we have important news that cannot wait,” Duskshadow purred without mirth, “Now gather up.” Storm stared at the brown tom, and Shade let out a frustrated growl, “We’ll discuss this later, Storm, I’ll go get the others.” “You mean you’ll go get Brownhare out of his nest even though he’s dying and wander off on another one of those cute little walks you two have.” Storm rolled her eyes. Shade mumbled something inaudible and stalked away. Storm shot me an apologetic glance and I offered her a small smile. She didn’t return it, and soon everyone was gathered to hear what we had to say, even Shade though Brownhare still wasn’t present. “So we found out that Crowheart’s buriers were murdered, and that afterwards, they were found at the border of ThunderClan. Crowheart’s fur was on the bramble bush nearby, which has been unexplained. Nobody knew whether or not Crowheart was actually buried...” “Which explains why Sunny is so mad!” Dawnfur piped up, “Because she found out that somebody killed the buriers and perhaps threw Crowheart’s body away.” “If that’s the reason she’s always mad, she has problems.” Storm grumbled. Snowbreeze giggled, and Graystorm rolled his eyes. I was starting to get used the gray and white tom, he made good company sometimes. But never a better company than Duskshadow. I glanced over at the tom, and saw his dark blue eyes staring at me. I blushed and looked away. “So you’re telling me that... Crowheart had problems even after he died?” Willowfur’s eyes were wide. “In a way, yes.” I nodded. The younger she-cat’s eyes narrowed, “I think we ought to ask Frosty and Kitkat about his death, I mean, they killed him didn’t they?” Shade nodded, “Let’s go now.” Duskshaodw’s soft voice added, “Before it’s too late to uncover this secret.” ~ We trekked all the way to Frosty and Kitkat’s camp, and I shivered violently from the cold. Duskshadow had a thick mane of fur, so he wasn’t bothered by the cold. All the others, had rather short fur, and we were all too cold standing outside. “Frosty!” Storm yowled, “Kitkat! We’re here to talk about something.” The white she-cat poked her head out, her blue eyes blinking, “Come in,” she mewed tiredly, “Did you have to come during a storm like this? If this blows on, you’ll be stuck in here till morning comes around.” “Yay,” Shade muttered, “I’m so excited.” Right after the dark gray she-cat said that, she let out a wheezy sigh and glared at her younger sister. I could almost hear her sighing: I’m turning just like you, Storm. Dawnfur’s whiskers twitched. Graystorm had his own bushy tail wrapped around Snowbreeze, but the white she-cat didn’t look too cold in my opinion. “Just come in,” Frosty sighed. When we all entered, Kitkat looked up, “Why are you here?” she asked, confused, “Don’t tell me you’re here to dump snow on my fur so I’ll have to clean it again.” I opened my mouth to explain, but Kitkat wailed, “Oh no! Don’t tell me my punishment is to clean all their pelts, Frosty!” The white she-cat rolled her eyes, “Yes,” she mewed gravely, “I’m going to make you clean all their furs because all you’ve done is sit in my den and groom for the past hour.” “Please don’t!” Kitkat’s amber eyes widened, “I don’t want to lick their pelts for hours on end!” We all stared at her. Frosty laughed, “I’m kidding, okay?” “Oh.” Kitkat relaxed and continued her grooming, “Good because I haven’t finished my pelt anyways.” “You’re never going to finish your pelt at this rate.” Frosty sighed. I coughed, “We have to ask you something, Frosty.” How in the world do these two get anything done? Kitkat immediately looked up, her face sweet and innocent, “Do I get to answer some questions too?” Duskshadow gave her a swift nod, and Kitkat perked up. “Okay so, what happened that day you decided to kill Crowheart?” Frosty narrowed her eyes, but Kitkat’s merry face disappeared. It was replaced with a face devoid of emotion, and she purred without mirth, “I remember that day well. Crowheart was in front of me, possibly hunting, but he was definitely looking for something. I struck, and well, he fell. Then I left.” Kitkat’s amber eyes turned to me, and I struggled not to scream and back away at the emptiness in them. “That’s all.” Kitkat smiled, expression flooding back on her face as she returned to grooming her pelt. Frosty blinked, “I’m afraid you’ll have to trust Kitkat’s word on this.” How in the name of StarClan does she turn from this prissy she-cat to the cold-blooded murderer she is? “That’s...very helpful.” I sighed. Willowfur stepped up, “You say he fell and you just left,” she started, “Did you know if he was actually dead?” Kitkat slowly looked up, her eyes pools of almost no emotion again, “I...guess not.” The brown and white she-cat shrugged, “I know my hits, he had to have been dead after that wound.” “So...you don’t know?” The End. Category:Fan Fictions Category:Cchen3's Fanfics Category:Cold